No, this isn’t a post about the chaos of meaning and authorial intention. Or, then again, maybe it’s at least related to it. Today I want to talk about those peculiar readers who seem utterly unable to separate the art from the artist.
But what does it mean, to separate the art from the artist? In a sense, it’s about understanding that meaning is created by the author as well as the audience.
However, in our context, not to separate the art from the artist refers to those who cannot objectively assess a work of art as a result of their preconceptions about the artist.
Where do you draw the line between art and artist?(more…)
In other words, there aren’t “areas” of creativity, neatly isolated from one another. There isn’t a creativity related to fiction writing, another related to academic writing, and yet another related to developing Android apps. There is only one form of creativity, and the more efficiently you can combine its different facets, the better.
To “outsiders” code appears as something akin to witchcraft. Things are stunningly simpler once you get past the surface
Chances are, if you found this post you care more about the JavaScript code, so I won’t tire you with theorizing – if you’re interested in philosophy, feel free to take a look at the many posts dealing with philosophical musings.
Having said that, this post still wants to make a more theoretical point, namely that what appears difficult and incomprehensible (like coding) can be very simple. Therefore, I will be a bit… verbose in my explanations, trying to help beginners keep up.
So, let’s get to the details of how to make a random quote generator written in JavaScript.
Some time ago, when I reviewed Michel Laub’s Diary of the Fall, I mentioned how sometimes all the ingredients can be there but the recipe is still a failure. Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s The Shadow of the Wind is somewhat similar, I’m afraid. All the ingredients are there, yes. It kinda works, and yet it doesn’t.
To be fair, I think Zafón’s novel works comparatively better. That is, one can still read it and somewhat enjoy it. However, The Shadow of the Wind aspires to be a Gothic tale. And to this Gothic fiction specialist, it comes off as a failed attempt.
There is a sustained attempt to present The Shadow of the Wind as a Gothic tale, taking advantage of the settings. But although all the checkboxes are ticked, something is amiss.(more…)
